Foot-rest attachment for closets



M h 31," 3 R.- M. ROM ER 1 798;6 32

FOQT REST ATTACHMENT FOR CLOSETS Friled'A ril 25, 1950 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1931 FOOT-BEST ATTACHMENT FOR CLOSETS Application filed April 23,

The present invention relates to improvements in closet attachments, and has for its main object to provide a foot-rest of simple construction to permit a person to assume a crouching position for an easy, complete and natural evacuation of the bowels.

Another object the invention is to provide a foot-rest attachment of the character mentioned which is adapted to be shifted to a position where it does not interfere with one occupying a sitting position on the seat.

A further object of the invention is to provide a footrest attachment of the type set forth which is adapted to be folded so as to occupy lit le space in case it is to be removed from the closet for storing purposes.

A sti ll further object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the character mentioned which is simple in construct-ion, efficient in operation, durable in use and capable of manufacture on a commercial scale, or in other words one which is not so difiicult to make as to be beyond the reasonable cost of such a contrivance.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter described, 0 pointed outin the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several parts and details of construction within 85 the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Two of the many possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a conventional type of closet and showing the improved foot-rest attachment applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a sect-ion taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modified foot-rest attachment.

Referring now first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a closet bowl of conventional construction, the same being provided with the usual seat ring 11,

1930. Serial No. 4 16,5555.

and with the usual cover, not shown. The foot-rest attachment comprises a foot-plate 12 of substantially U-shaped configuration, composed of a front web 13, connecting two rearwardly extending parallel boards 14, the said front web 13 being disposed in front of the bowl and the boards 14- at the sides thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The boards 14: are spaced apart a distance to permit the foot-rest to be shifted from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings into the position shown in dotted lines therein. l/Vith each board 1 1 is made, preferably, integral a downwardly extending flange 15, and with each flange are made, preferably, integral twostandards 16 and 17, the standards 16 being disposed immediately below the web 13 and the standards 17 in rear of the boards 14. The standards 16 are higher than the standards 17, so that the foot-plate 12 slants toward the rear. The standards 17 are connected by a transverse tie-bar 18 to strengthen the structure, the said tie-bar serving at the same time as a stop limiting the operative position of the foot-rest. In the operative position, the said tie-bar bears against the rear of the bowl 10.

lhe operation of the device is as follows: In Fig. 1 of the drawings the foot-rest is shown in full lines in operative relation to the closet bowl. As is well-known, the crouching posit-ion is the most favorable for an easy and complete evacuation of the bowels on account of anatomical and physiological reasons not necessary to state here. in. With the above described construction this position may be assumed, or the usual sitting position, as desired, when the footrest is shifted into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. A person, when seated in a crouching position, may rest the feet at any location on the footrest that may be found most comfortable. As stated above, the tie-bar 18 limits the normal position of the foot-rest, the said tie-bar abutting against the rear face of the bowl, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. When the foot-rest is not needed, it may be shifted into the position shown in dotted lines in the Gil said figure, in which case the front web 13 of the foot-rest abuts against the front of the bowl.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings differs from the one above only in that the standards 16 and 17 thereof are pivoted at 19 and 20, respectively, to lugs 21 on the downwardly extending flanges 15 of the boards 14 of the device. These standards may, therefore, be shifted into the dotted positions shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings against the said boards, whereby the size of the device is materially reduced for storing purposes. Otherwise the construction and operation of the elements are the same as those described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

What I claim is A foot-rest attachment for closet bowls, comprising a foot-plate of U-shape in formation for extending across the front and each side of the bowl, standards for supporting said foot-plate in relation to the bowl, said standards being of uneven height to cause said foot-plate to slant toward its rear end, and a tie-bar connecting one pair of said standards, said tie-bar being adapted to abut against the rear of the bowl and thereby serving as a stop for said foot-plate.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 22nd day of March, A. D. 1930.

RALPH M. ROMER. 

